


Fighting to Forget

by GeorgieHaast



Series: Solangelo One-shots [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Memories, Nico needs a hug, Pre-Slash, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 15:43:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12987231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeorgieHaast/pseuds/GeorgieHaast
Summary: “I hear he’s been at it all morning,” a Demeter camper whispered.“He can’t keep it up much longer, he’s got to be exhausted."“I hope he drops soon, he’s hogging the arena.” huffed an Ares camper.“You could just go in and kick him out.”“After watching him for the past hour do you seriously think any of us would stand a chance if we stepped foot in there?”“Just leave him be, he’s obviously hurting,” an Aphrodite boy interrupted. “People only fight like that to forget.”Nico needs someone to talk to,Will is the best listener.





	Fighting to Forget

**Author's Note:**

> This somehow came out of the prompt:  
> "Why aren't you afraid of me?"  
> "I've had worse nightmares about failing AP chemistry"

The training arena was a mess. Dozens of dummies lay destroyed on the floor among piles of broken bones and dust as Nico di Angelo, a blur of stygian iron and shadows, hacked down skeleton after skeleton. For every one that fell, another emerged from the gaping cavern in the corner of the arena, surrounding him as he fought.

The watching crowd had grown as the sun had risen, by now over half the camp was crowded around the perimeter, watching with bated breath. 

“I hear he’s been at it all morning,” a Demeter camper whispered.

“He can’t keep it up much longer, he’s got to be exhausted."

“I hope he drops soon, he’s hogging the arena.” huffed an Ares camper.

“You could just go in and kick him out.”

“After watching him for the past hour do you seriously think any of us would stand a chance if we stepped foot in there?”

“Just leave him be, he’s obviously hurting,” an Aphrodite boy interrupted. “People only fight like that to forget.”

The truth was, Nico was hurting. Not that anyone else would know or remember or even care but it was the anniversary of Bianca’s death and Nico was angry: angry at the gods for every medalling thing they’d done in his life; angry at Artemis for stealing his sister away from him; angry at everyone on that blasted quest for not protecting her; angry at himself for being so full of rage that he couldn’t even mourn her properly. He slashed his sword through three more skeletons, smashing his elbow into the one which had almost snuck up behind him causing it to fall to the ground in a pile of bones. Even as those four fell he subconsciously summoned 4 more to replace them. 

Nico was exhausted in every possible way. His strength was draining with every slash of his sword, his powers draining with every new enemy he summoned but he couldn’t stop now. He was on edge, dangerous, he couldn’t risk being at his full power around other people in his current state: anything could happen. And, though he’d never admit it to anyone, the pain helped. He didn’t deserve to be happy today. He didn’t deserve to be healthy and healed and so very alive when someone as good as Bianca, someone as kind and as considerate as his incredible sister, the only good thing in his life was… was…

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Nico spun, roaring as he released a wave of pure darkness. The ground cracked around him and the skeletons fell to the floor in piles of dust as the attacker was thrown backwards onto the ground. Gripping his sword tighter, Nico advanced on where his attacker now lay. “Nico, look at me,” the thing said. “Look at me, not an enemy, just a friend.” Nico paused. “That’s it, put down the sword. You’re tired and confused. This isn’t you.” Nico blinked and shook his head, finally becoming aware of his surroundings. 

The arena was wrecked, flagstones torn up as the cracks in the ground spread from the centre in a deadly spider web. The group of people standing around were backing away looking terrified. Whispers flew among them as they pointed and stared. And picking himself up off the ground was Will Solace. His arms were grazed from the concrete and he was supporting his wrist, which seemed to be facing the wrong direction. Nico’s sword fell to the ground with a crash as he backed away from the chaos he’d caused. 

“Nico, wait!” Will called but Nico was already running.

∞∞∞∞∞ 

It took Will an hour to sort out his wrist: thankfully a fracture not a break and nothing some nectar and ambrosia wouldn’t see to but it would still need to be in a sling for a day or two to make sure it stayed set correctly.

It took another hour to track down Nico. He wouldn’t have found him at all if it hadn’t been for a helpful hint from a wood nymph who’d pointed out the son of Hades crammed into the smallest possible gap in between two of the rocks at Zeus’ fist. 

“Hey,” Will said softly, crouching down next to the gap.

Nico’s head spun round so fast WiIl was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. “What are you doing here?” he asked, trying to back further into his hiding place.

“I came to see if you’re okay.”

“If I’m okay?” Nico laughed darkly. “I’m dangerous, I could hurt you,” his eyes flickered to the sling supporting Will’s arm. “I’ve already hurt you.”

“’tis but a scratch!” Will laughed shrugging. “Okay, note to show you some Monty Python sketches then,” he continued at the blank look on Nico’s face. “Come on, why don’t you come out from there and go get some food and rest. You must be exhausted: I’ve never seen anyone fight like that and use their powers for that long, it was incredible and stupid and reckless and…”

“Why aren’t you scared of me?” Nico interrupted.

“Please,” Will laughed, “I’ve had worse nightmares about failing AP chemistry.”

“I’m serious!”

“So am I! You can’t get into med school if you fail chemistry and those exams are freaking hard.”

A beat of silence and the Nico huffed out a short laugh. “You’re such a dork.”

“Says the guy who has the complete set of limited edition mythomagic cards. Anyway, that wasn’t you, there was obviously something else going on” Will paused to give Nico a chance to speak but he stayed silent. “You want to talk about it?”

Nico still said nothing. 

“That’s chill” Will assured. “I’ve got to go in now to make sure my cabin all get to bed on time but if you change your mind you know where to find me. I always find talking helps and I’m told I’m a good listener.” He got up from the ground, brushing the dirt off his trousers. It was impossible to tell whether he imagined the ‘thank you’ that he heard or not but he decided not to dwell on it.

 ∞∞∞∞∞

Three days later, Will was closing the infirmary for the night. It was the first time in a while that it had been completely empty. It therefore took Will completely by surprise when he heard a voice from the corner of the room: “Her name was Bianca,” Will almost threw a scalpel at the intruder in shock but managed to stop himself. 

“Ummm, what?” Will finally asked.

“My sister,” the person, Nico, clarified. “Her name was Bianca. You would’ve liked her. She was stubborn and strong and wouldn’t put up with any of my shit.”

“She sounds incredible,” Will said, motioning Nico to take a seat. He half expected the son of Hades to disappear back into the shadows but, much to Will’s relief, he didn’t.

“She was, we were all each other had after mum died. Dad, well we didn’t know it was him at the time, sent us to this hotel to protect us. I don’t know what others have told you about but the hotel was like a place out of time. We went in in the 1940s and came out in the 21st century after what barely felt like a few months. When we came to camp, she signed up to join Artemis’ hunt and I was so mad that she’d just leave me like that after everything we’d been through together. She went on a quest and… and she never came back. That was exactly 7 years ago the other day. I know it’s stupid and it’s been a long time but I still miss her every day and I’ll never forgive myself that we didn’t part on good terms.”

They sat in silence for a while, neither really sure what to say. “I lost a brother,” Will said eventually. “Half-brother, on dad’s side so it’s not really the same. I’ve got a lot of siblings but Michael and I were especially close: he trained me as a healer and patiently tried to teach me archery until we both figured it was a useless cause. I’m not trying to diminish what you went through but I just want you to know that, on some small level, I understand. I’ll always be here if you want to talk about it or anything else.”

“I’m dangerous around other people,” Nico whispered. “I get so caught up in my emotions that I loose track of my powers. I lash out and people get hurt. _You_ got hurt.”

  “Look at me, Nico,” Will said firmly. The son of Hades lifted his gaze from his lap to meet the boy sitting opposite him. “You do not paint yourself as the monster here. Bianca wouldn’t want you blaming yourself over any of this. We all have bad days: days where we mess up, days when a fight goes wrong and a friend gets hurt. No one understands the pressure of your powers more than me. I can spend days with peoples lives in my hands knowing that one slip up from me and they’re dead. But that does not mean that I turn and run. You face the responsibility of your power and you accept the help and support of your friends who are there to carry the burden with you. You’re sitting in the infirmary with a son of Apollo, if there’s one place where you shouldn’t be worried about hurting people it’s here. My wrist is completely back to normal after the other day, I’ve had far worse injuries falling off the lava wall. 

“So don’t be afraid of your emotions. Take your time to mourn and remember, and know that you have friends who are here to support you through whatever you’re going through. You don’t have to face any of this alone.”

“Thank you,” Nico said after a while. 

“Seriously, it’s no problem.”

“I know it isn’t.” Nico stood to leave. “But thank you all the same, I guess talking does help.”

“Well if you’ve suddenly discovered your sociable side then you know where to find me.” Will called but Nico had already disappeared into the night. Will had become a doctor to help people in pain. Some people just needed reminding that there was more than one kind of pain.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. If you have time, go check out my other fics in this series (or my other fics in general!) and leave a comment to let me know what you thought.


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